Boise Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

BOISE – Jerrell Charles Keeley, 59, of Boise, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to possession of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez announced.

According to the plea agreement, in June of 2014, law enforcement in Ada County arrested Keeley for several criminal violations and booked him into the Ada County Jail. While incarcerated, Keeley called an acquaintance and requested he collect Keeley’s personal belongings from his residence. Keeley requested the acquaintance “throw away” some “inappropriate stuff” that was at the residence, and requested that he “drill holes” through his CDs, “erase” his zip drives and computer hard drives, and “throw them all.” Keeley’s acquaintance took Keeley’s personal belongings, including his computers, and stored them at a residence in Wilder, Idaho. The owner of that residence later observed images of child pornography in boxes containing Keeley’s belongings, and notified the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office and the Boise Police Department.

A detective with the Boise Police Department applied for a search warrant to search the electronic devices, which was signed by a State of Idaho Magistrate Judge. A computer forensics agent with Homeland Security Investigations examined the electronic devices and discovered at least 268 images and 10 videos containing child pornography, websites and search terms in the internet browser history indicative of child pornography, and identifying information showing Keeley owned and used the computers. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified 122 images and 10 videos as depicting known child pornography victims.

Sentencing is set for August 31, 2017, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than five years and up to life, and a $5,000 special assessment. As part of his plea, Keeley also agreed to forfeit the computers and electronic storage devices used in the commission of the charged offense.

The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department, the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations, and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”